iPhone '4G' to have a Wii-like sensor?

News sources point to natty features in next-gen model

The next iteration of the iPhone (come on, you knew we would start talking about it at some point) is likely to have new motion-sensing abilities, far better than the current accelerometer.

According to Taiwanese news sources the MEMS gyroscopes, as the new technology is known, would allow the phone to work out where it is in a 3D environment, in a similar way to how the Nintendo Wii works.

Bandwagon jumpers

Digitimes, which broke the story, also believes that the technology could be picked up by more manufacturers as well, in order to further enable their handsets.

Members of the top five smartphone manufacturers - Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, LG and Sony Ericsson - are anticipated to use MEMS gyroscopes, which will cost only three per cent of the overall assembly cost as prices plummet.

It would open the door for the handsets to be used in same way as Wii-mote, but with the handset screen displaying the game, something Sony Ericsson has already dabbled with.